Shopping Mall Excursion (3)

"Settled then. Noel, please hold Liliath's hand," my mom said, all smiles and held Novelle's hand before rushing up the escalator.

Oh damn you two.. ugh.. did they have this planned all along or it just happened on a whim.. grr..

"N-Noel?"

"Fine."

I held her hand.

I really don't get it. Why did Liliath become so proactive all of a sudden? She shouldn't force herself onto me just because I saved her or anything. I know it's very cliché-like for me and Liliath to fall for each other but it only happens in stories. And this isn't a story— this is the real world.

She could very well find herself another person.. she could very well only be treating me in this way because I'm the 'guy' in her vicinity..

Hey wait.. did I just sound like some shitty protagonist that refuses to acknowledge the fact that Liliath is taking the lead?

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The platform shuttered, bringing my thoughts back to reality, I felt Liliath's grip tighten. Really, really tighten.. oh fuck, it really does hurt.. her super-human strength is no joke.. as expected of a demon queen.

"I count to three and we step forward."

"U-understood."

I'm sorry for blocking the other's behind us wanting to use the escalator too.. but there's nothing I can do about it..

"One.. two.. now!"

I took a step forward, Liliath's footing was late by a beat. Our balance shifted due to the momentum.

Success!

Liliath wobbled, hands holding onto the conveyor belt rails.

"I-I did it," she was panting.

"Yeah, congratulations, you did it," I didn't know how or why but I smiled.

That said.. I could feel the glares behind us all the way until we reached the top. And about jumping off the escalator.. Liliath was scared but since we had no option to retreat, she pushed herself and we managed to get off without any issues.

My mom and the little devil applauded our victory.

That said...

We have another escalator to go...

Since Liliath was adamant about not going up the escalator again, my mom decided that we give Liliath a little break before attempting the second escalator.

Clothing store— I wasn't really into clothing but I followed anyways. We came out holding a bag— all of which were Liliath's clothes. A number of them were dresses.. and having the opportunity to see Liliath try on these that she picked out herself made my heart skip a beat.

And then escalator number two.. I had to hold Liliath's hand again..

But we succeeded after a tiring battle of persuading Liliath.

"So with this could we assume the quest as complete?" Liliath whispered into my ears just as we stepped off the escalator.

"Huh?!" I turned to look at her, then looked at our hands that made contact.

"5 minutes," she smiled, then let go.

What?

No.. what.. so that was an act?

Liliath wasn't shivering nor scared— she had an expression of triumph.

I was tricked? No.. what?

Liliath acted all scared in front of my mom and Novelle, as if it had been a hard-earned achievement. Then she turned to me.. and winked.

I was speechless. Was this planned or...

We ended up in the book store. Liliath accompanied me while Novelle went to the stationary section, my mom went to the business section.

I picked up a book— a light novel from the shelf and flipped it to the back to read the summary.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Liliath looking around everywhere. I had no idea what she was looking at. Her gaze landed on the counter beside the bookshelf where I took the light novel from.

"How come I could tell that these are different languages?"

"Hm?"

Liliath said something weird.

"What do you mean?"

"These two, I can read the words but I also know that they are different," Liliath pointed at the two books.

One was in Japanese, the other was in Chinese.. wait huh?

"You can read these?"

Liliath nodded. "Sword Art Master in an Alternate World, The Devil's Cohorts-- is what these two titles are."

After which she repeated the titles in their respective languages— as if she were fluent in both Chinese and Japanese..

Does that mean...

I reached over and passed her a novel translated in Korean.

"No More Second Death for the Princess?"

Liliath looked at me, a surprised expression on her face.

French, Indonesian, Vietnamese, German, Malay... she could read, speak and understand them all.

How in the FUCK?!

THIS IS CRAZY?!

"I can speak and understand all languages in this world." Liliath said with unfocused eyes.

"Broken.. totally broken.. I should invest in a language comprehension spell book myself.."

A 200 point language comprehension skill book that could allow one to understand every single language in the world— that's like the most broken thing ever— it's so stupid, it's not even funny anymore.

If I could understand every language in the world...

"Ah! That's it!"

"Did you notice something?"

"Liliath, how good is your literature?"

"My proficiency in literature? Could you specify what you mean by that?"

"I'm thinking maybe you could become a translator or writer in the future?"

And that was the train of thoughts that happened to cross my mind. If anything, Liliath's future was uncertain. She still had to earn a wage, eat and sleep like any other normal person. And taking into account this ability of her's to comprehend every language on Earth, she could utilize this 'artificial TALENT' she had to survive.

At least.. that's what I thought.

"A translator and writer?"

"Liliath, do you read often?"

She thought for a while before replying, "Before I learnt that I was a candidate, I spent the majority of my time indulging in works of highly regarded authors.."

"I'm just saying this from my own opinion but I think you should try to become an author.. of course it's just my suggestion. If anything, it'll still depend on whether or not you like writing."

"I'll consider it," Liliath nodded.

"Ah, you two are here," Novelle suddenly called out.

"Yeah, good to meet you again so what did you get?" I spoke sarcastically.

"I didn't get anything, I came for big sister," the little devil tugged on Liliath's hand, "I want to show you something."

Liliath nodded, gave me a questioning look that asked if she could leave, I gave her consent with a nod. She placed the book she had in hand back to its original position before leaving with the little devil.

With Liliath gone, I felt a sense of emptiness.

Liliath.. just who is she? This is reality, not some novel or virtual world. Liliath said she was a demon lord, and judging by her own description of her world, it's suspicious how her attitude lacked any cunning or vicious nature. If she had been tempered though slavery, bloodshed, corruption, betrayal and war.. her inner thinking should've been altered in a way that helped her adapt to the environment.

For all I know.. Liliath could be putting up an act all this time.. she could be trying to manipulate me in one way or another.

This is just speculation on my end. Whatever it may be, I need to be careful not to be too carried away.

I followed after them two—

-- My hypothesis about Liliath was shattered in an instant..

Was it just me or did I forget that Liliath wasn't from this world? Their habits and knowledge might be different, resulting in certain unexplainable actions..

"I can't believe they sell these here!" Liliath held the packaging and lifted it into the air.

"Of course, it's a common item in the stationary station," the devil giggled.

So what item were they talking about you ask?

Super Glue.

That same one in the television advertisements I saw them discuss about the other day.

"…"

"Noel, it was said that super glue is like a superior version of gum— such used in sealing letters, is that correct?" Liliath threw me a question.

Gum..

Letter.. sealing wax? Was that what she was comparing super glue to?

I didn't know what to think anymore. This— acting? The innocent girl named Liliath— a supposed demon queen— holding a super glue packaging in ecstasy..

An act?

Or was I being fooled again..?

Liliath trying to manipulate me?

Am I bullshiting myself?

"Novelle, did I do something wrong?" Liliath asked.

"You did nothing wrong big sister. Big brother is just like that," the little devil shook her head.